MXPA99011710A - Valve for a pressurized container - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a valve for a pressurised container. The valve comprises a hollow body (10) mounted onto the container, the hollow body (10) having an internal volume having a feeding means (14), a first body (11) retained in the hollow body (10), the first body (11) being mobile with respect to the hollow body (10) and co-operating with the feeding means (14) so that the first body (11) obstructs the feeding means (10) in a predetermined orientation of the container and the valve comprises a second body (12), the second body (12) being in magnetic interaction with the first body (11), so as to reinforce the action of the first body (11) particularly when used in combination with viscous product or/and high flow rates.

Description

VALVE FOR A PRESSURIZED CONTAINER TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a valve for a pressurized container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A pressurized container usually contains a product together with a propellant. The propeíente usually creates the necessary pressure inside the container. The propellant can be a liquid propellant or a gaseous propellant. When the propellant is a liquid propellant, the pressure inside the container is created by the vapor pressure of the liquid propellant. The gaseous propellant and the vapor phase of the liquid propellant are normally located in the headspace of the container when the container remains in its upright position. The pressure inside the container is higher than the normal outside atmospheric pressure. The pressure inside the container is maintained by closing the container with a valve. Consequently, the propellant tends to exit the interior of the container once the valve of the container is opened. Therefore the propellant also drives the product out of the container.

In order that the entire product can be expelled out of the container it must be ensured that sufficient propellant is available in the container with respect to the quantity of product. Consequently, it must be ensured that the propellant is not allowed to exit unnecessarily, that is, the product must be expelled at the same time as the propellant. If the product is not expelled at the same time as the propellant, the propellant can be progressively emptied out of the pressurized container until the remaining amount of propellant can be too low with respect to the rest of the product remaining in the container, to ensure the assortment complete the rest of the product from inside the pressurized container. The rest of the product that can not be expelled from inside the pressurized container is then wasted. Propellant discharge without product can occur as long as the product is not placed between the propellant and the discharge opening of the pressurized container. In fact, it must be ensured that the propellant is forced to pass through the product by pushing at least part of the product out of the pressurized container. This can be done by the use of a three-way valve, which is a mechanism comprising two delivery means, in which at least one of the supply means can be obstructed by a moving body when the container is substantially upright or substantially invested. The opening of each supply means is located in a location such that the propellant is forced to pass through the product by pushing at least part of the product out of the pressurized container through one of the supply means when the container is substantially upright and through the other when the container is substantially inverted. Such types of valves are described in patent EP-0053350, of May 2, 1985 or the patent of E.U.A. No. 4277001, of July 7, 1981, and application FR-2 688 286 of September 10, 1993. For example, when on the one hand the propellant is above the product when the pressurized container is held substantially upright and for on the other side the supply means are a dip tube connecting the discharge opening in the upper part of the container with the bottom of the pressurized container and an opening connecting the discharge opening in the upper part of the container with the upper part of the container Pressurized, the mobile body will clog the dip tube when the container is inverted so that the product will be pushed through the other supply medium by the propellant, while the same mobile body will clog the upper supply means when the container is inverted so that the product will be pushed through the immersion tube by the propellant. The mechanism can be analyzed as follows. The moving body in the mechanism is subjected to two forces: the force created by gravity (Fi) and the force created by the product flow (F2). F1 depends mainly on the mass of the mobile body. F2 depends mainly on the viscosity of the product, of the flow velocity and the main cross section of the moving body in the product flow and can be approximated by the Stoke law: F2 - 3pDvμ where D is the cross section of the moving body perpendicular to the flow, v is the flow velocity and μ is the viscosity of the product. In order to have proper operation, F1 must overcome F2. If we then consider the viscosity of the product and the flow velocity of the product as two constraints imposed by the system, two variables can be modified: the mass of the moving body and the main cross-section of the moving body in the product flow. In order to overcome the drag force F2, the moving body must have a high mass with a small main cross section in the product flow. This is limited because a higher mass usually leads to a higher volume and, consequently, to a higher main cross section. It has been discovered that this mechanism works only for low discharge speeds of approximately 2 grams of product per second as the maximum limit. The present invention is directed to increasing F1 against F2 in order to make it possible to spray high viscosity and / or flow rate formulas while minimizing propellant losses.

It is an object of the present invention to compensate the viscosity and / or the flow rate of the product to be sprayed while maintaining the functionality of the valve. It is another object of the present invention to provide an ecological spray mechanism for viscous and / or high flow rate formulations. It is another object of the present invention to provide a spray mechanism for viscous and / or high flow rate formulations allowing to minimize production costs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a valve for a pressurized container, the valve comprises: a) a hollow body (10) mounted on the container, the hollow body has an internal volume having at least one supply means (14); b) a first body (11) retained in the hollow body (10), the first body (11) being movable with respect to the hollow body (10) and cooperating with the supply means (14) so that the first body ( 10) obstructs the supply means (14) at least in a predetermined orientation of the container; the valve is characterized in that it comprises: c) the second body (12), being movable with respect to the hollow body (10), the second body (12) being in magnetic interaction with the first body (11).

These first (11) and second (12) bodies can be analyzed as a single mechanical system subjected to forces F < And F2. In this system, Fi depends on the mass added to the first (11) and second (12) bodies while F2 depends only on the main cross section of the first body (11), since the second body (12) can be isolated of the product flow. The user is consequently free to adjust the total mass of the system, consequently F1, without changing the value of F2. This is done by acting on the mass of the second body (12).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Figure 1 a is a schematic cross-sectional view of a mode of a valve according to the present invention in its upright position. Figure 1 b is a cross-sectional view of the valve of Figure 1 a in its inverted position. Figure 2a is a partial schematic cross sectional view of another embodiment of a valve according to the present invention in its upright position. Figure 2b is a cross-sectional view of the valve of Figure 2a in its inverted position. Figure 3a is a partial schematic cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a valve according to the present invention in its upright position. Figure 3b is a cross-sectional view of the valve of Figure 3a in its inverted position.

The valve of a pressurized container of the present invention consists of a hollow body (10) mounted on the container, the hollow body (10) has an internal volume that has at least one supply means (14), a first body (11). ) retained in the hollow body (10), the first body (11) being movable with respect to the hollow body (10) and cooperating with the supply means (14) so that the first body (11) obstructs the supply means (10) at least in a predetermined orientation of the container and characterized in that it consists of a second body (12), the second body (12) being movable with respect to the hollow body (10), the second body (12) being in interaction magnetic with the first body (11). The valve is mounted in a pressurized container. A pressurized container is usually obtained by filling the container with a product and a propellant. The container is a hollow body that can be made of any material, preferably metal, plastics including polyethylene terphthalate (= PET), oriented polypropylene (= OPP), polyethylene (= PE) or polyamide and including blends, laminates or other combinations thereof . The metal can be any made from steel with tin plate or other metals such as aluminum. Preferably, the inner surface of the metal container is laminated with a plastic material or coated with a lacquer or with a varnish. The lacquer or varnish are those to protect the inner surface of the container from corrosion. Corrosion can lead to weakening of the container and can also lead to discoloration of the contents of the container. The preferred plastic materials for lamination and coating lacquers or varnishes are phenolic epoxy, imida polyamide, organosol, PET, PP, PE or a combination of the mimes. Any flowable material, including gaseous, liquid or foam product, may be contained in the container and discharged through the valve according to the present invention. Foam products are preferred when discharged with gaseous propellant. The propellant expands to form many bubbles within the composition thereby creating foam. Specific cleaners for hard surface are examples of foam products. Such a foam product is described, for example, in EP-A-546 828. A preferred foam product according to the present invention is a laundry detergent for cleaning in foam. A foaming laundry cleaning composition is described in EP-A-677 577 and in co-pending European patent application No. 95870084.1. The pressure inside the container can be created by a propellant. The pressure inside the pressurized container is such that the flowable material and the propellant are expelled to the outside of the pressurized container once the valve is in an open position. The pressure inside the container is therefore higher than the external atmospheric pressure outside the container. The pressure inside the container is preferably at least 5 bar at 20 ° C, more preferably the internal pressure is in the range between 8 bar and 10 bar at 20 ° C. The amount of propellant contained in the container is such that substantially all of the flowable material can be expelled out of the container through the life of the pressurized container at the correct pressure. The amount also depends on the type of propellant used. Suitable propellants known in the art are liquid and gaseous propellants. The preferred propellants are gaseous propellants so as not to damage the environment. As referred to herein, the words "gaseous" and "non-liquefiable" are used interchangeably with respect to the propellant. In fact, gaseous propellants or non-liquefiable propellants are propellants that are in a gaseous state of matter at room temperature (about 20 ° C) and at pressures up to 12 bar. Additionally, it is preferred to use propellants that do not damage the ozone layer such as compressed air, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and oxides thereof or mixtures thereof. Carbon dioxide is the most preferred gaseous propellant. Minor quantities of low molecular weight hydrocarbons, such as propane, butane, pentane, hexane, may optionally be included with the proviso that the flammability requirements are not exceeded. Various ways of pressurizing the propellant gas are known in the art. For example, gas can be pressurized at the time of packaging. The product can be physically separated from a compressed gas by a membrane such as a rubber under tension. Alternatively a means may be provided for pressurizing the gas subsequently by mechanical action (the so-called "pump and spray" systems).

The first body (11) can be spherical, but it can be in any other way that allows to cooperate with a corresponding supply means (14). These shapes include ovoids, rings, cylinders or conics. The second body (12) can be spherical, but can be of any other shape. These forms include ovoids, cylinders, rings or cones. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the second body (12) has a ring shape so that it can completely surround the first body (11) allowing an enhanced magnetic interaction to be exerted additionally. Similarly, the first body 11 could also be ring-shaped. The magnetic interaction between the first body (11) and the second (12) can be obtained in several ways. In a preferred embodiment, the first body (11) is made of a soft magnetic material and the second body (12) is made of a hard magnetic material. A soft magnetic material has a remanence which is substantially zero. Such materials generally contain iron, nickel or cobalt. This includes several grades of steel. A hard magnetic material has a remanence which is substantially non-zero. Such materials include dispersed or agglomerated ferrites, alnico, and various materials containing rare earths such as neodymium, iron, boron or samarium cobalt. In another embodiment of the invention, the first body (11) is made of hard materials and the second body (12) of soft materials. In another embodiment, the first body (11) and the second (12) can be made of hard magnetic materials. The intensity of the magnetic interaction and the weight of the mechanical system first body (11) second body (12) must be tuned so that the first body (11) can move fast enough from a position that does not obstruct the obstructing position and in reverse, and so that the first body (11) can be held in place when the product is flowing, without being invaded by a viscous flow. The intensity of the magnetic interaction can be fine-tuned in several ways. A first way to refine the intensity of the magnetic interaction is through the use of different materials. As an example, an interaction of hard material-hard material is generally more intense than an interaction of hard material-soft material. As another example, the concreted material generally involves a more intense magnetic interaction than the dispersed materials. As another example, materials containing rare earths will normally allow a more intense magnetic interaction than alnico or ferrite materials. Another way to fine tune the intensity of the magnetic interaction can be obtained through the modification of the magnetization direction of the materials. Other forms include changes in the shape or volume of the magnets as well as the dimassionamiento, because the magnetic interaction varies enormously with distance. The weight of the first mechanical system of first body-second body can also be fine-tuned by choosing materials or by modifying form or volume. The tuning selections must be optimized taking into account several criteria, such as the elements of environment, corrosion or price. For example, ferrite is a generally cheaper material than rare earth-containing materials. As another example, iron-containing materials can be corroded in an aqueous environment. For example, this can be prevented by isolating the second body (12) in another hollow body (13), whereby it is not in contact with a corrosive environment. Corrosion may be due to certain characteristics of the product and / or propellant, such as pH. The movements allowed by the first body (11) and the second (12) are not limited, as long as their position is suitable for obstruction in the desired orientation, for example when the loss of propellant should be avoided. For example, the first (11) and second (12) bodies can have parallel movements (Fig. 1a, b and Fig. 2a, b), or the second body (12) can have amplified movements (Fig 3a.b), in order to improve the blocking force of the first body (11). One embodiment of a valve according to the present invention is shown in Figures 1 a and b. The valve consists of a hollow body (10), a supply means (14), a first body (11) and a second body (12). In this embodiment, the supply means (14) consist of an opening (15) that allows communication between the valve and the container, as well as a part (19) that can cooperate with the first body (11) in such a way that the supply means (14) are obstructed by the first body (11) when the container is in an upright position (Fig. 1a). The contents of the container can leave the container passing through the open valve (Fig. 1b). In case of use with a flowable material sprayed out thanks to the pressure produced by a propellant, the communication (15) between the valve and the container must preferably be positioned so that the propellant must pass through the flowable material before to access the communication 15. Consequently, the propellant must not exit while the container has an undesired inclination (Figure 1a). An undesired inclination can be any inclination in which the propellant is able to exit the interior of the container without simultaneously expelling the product. As described above, this can occur as long as the propellant is not forced to pass through the product when the valve is opened. In the example, on the one hand the propellant is above the product when the pressurized container is kept substantially upright (Figure 1a), and on the other hand the supply means is an opening (15) connecting the discharge opening (16) in the upper part of the container with the upper part of the pressurized container. The first body (11) will obstruct the supply means (14) when the container is upright (Fig. 1a) so that the product will be pushed through it only when the container is inverted (Fig. 1b), thereby the propellant must pass through the flowable material before accessing the communication, so that propellant losses are minimized. In this case, the predetermined orientation is obtained when the container is upright (Fig. 1a). Consequently, the valve has an open position (Fig. 1b) and a closed position (Fig. 1a) corresponding to the predetermined orientation. The closed position of the valve (Fig. 1a) prevents any substantial leakage of product and / or propellant from the container. The open position of the valve (Fig. 1b) allows the discharge of the product and / or propente from the container. The valve is in its closed position (Fig. 1 b) when the supply means (14) are obstructed. Another embodiment of a valve according to the present invention is shown in Figures 2 a and b. The valve consists of a hollow body (10), two supply means (14, 17), a first body (11) and a second body (12). In this embodiment, the first supply means (14) consists of an opening (15) that allows communication between the valve and the upper part of the container, as well as a part (19) that can cooperate with the first body in such a manner which is obstructed by the first body (11) when the container is upright. The second supply means (17) consists of a dip tube (18) which connects the valve to the bottom of the container when the container is upright. The two delivery means (14, 17) allow the use of the valve in the upright position (Fig. 1a) as well as in the inverted position (Fig. 2b) of the container. In this example, the propellant is above the product when the pressurized container is substantially upright. The first body (11) will obstruct the first supply means (14) when the container is upright (Fig. 2a) in order to avoid propellant losses, while allowing the product to be pushed through the other supply means (17) by the propellant.

When the container is inverted (Fig. 2b), none of the supply means is obstructed, but the product will be pushed through the first supply means (14) by the propellant because it is more favorable than passing through the tube. of immersion (18). In this aim, the dip tube (18) preferably has a smaller area than the opening (15), so that the propellant flow passes favorably through the flowable material, before accessing the valve with propellant losses minimized. Yet another embodiment of a valve according to the present invention is shown in Figures 3 a and b. The valve consists of a hollow body (10), two supply means (14, 17), a first body (11) and a second body (12). In this embodiment, the first supply means (14) consist of an opening (15) that allows communication between the valve and the upper part of the container, as well as a part (19) that can cooperate with the first body (11) in such a way that it is obstructed by the first body (11) when the container is held erect (Figure 3a). The second supply means (17) consists of a dip tube (18) that connects the valve to the bottom of the container when the container is held upright, as well as a part (19 ') that can cooperate with the first body (11) in such a way that it is obstructed by the first body (11) when the container is held inverted (Figure 3b). The two supply means (14, 17) allow the use of the valve in the upright position (Fig. 3a) as well as in the inverted position (Fig. 3b) of the container. In this example, the propellant is above the product when the pressurized container is held substantially upright. The first body (11) will obstruct the first supply means (14) when the container is upright (Fig. 3a) in order to avoid propellant losses, while allowing the product to be pushed through the second supply means (17). ) by the propellant. The first body (11) will obstruct the second supply means (17) when the container is inverted (Figure 3b) in order to avoid propellant losses, while allowing the product to be pushed through the first delivery means (14). ) by the propellant. Consequently, in all inclinations the propellant must pass through the flowable material before accessing the valve with minimized propellant losses.

Claims (13)

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION CLAIMS

1. - A valve for a pressurized container, the valve comprises: (a) a hollow body (10) mounted on the container, the hollow body (10) has an internal volume having at least one supply means (14); (b) a first body (11) retained in the hollow body (10), the first body (11) being movable with respect to the hollow body (10) and cooperating with the supply means (14) so that the first body (11) obstructs the supply means (14) at least in a predetermined orientation of the container; the valve being characterized in that it consists of: (c) a second body (12), the second body (12) being movable with respect to the hollow body (10), the second body (12) being in magnetic interaction with the first body ( eleven ).

2. A valve according to claim 1, characterized in that the container contains a propellant and a flowable material.

3. A valve according to claim 2, characterized in that the internal volume has a second supply means 17.

4. A valve according to claim 3, characterized in that the first supply means (14) opens towards the flowable material when the container is substantially inverted, and the second supply means (17) opens towards the flowable material when the container is substantially upright, and the first body (11) obstructs the first delivery means (14) when the container is substantially upright.

5. A valve according to claim 3, characterized in that the first body (11) obstructs the second supply means (17) at least in a second predetermined orientation of the container.

6. A valve according to claim 2, characterized in that the propellant is a gas.

7. A valve according to claim 2, characterized in that the flowable material has a viscosity of at least 100 cps.

8. A valve according to claim 2, characterized in that the flowable material is supplied at a flow rate of at least 2 grams per second.

9. A valve according to claim 2, characterized in that the flowable material is a foam formula.

10. A valve according to claim 2, characterized in that the flowable material contains from 5 to 50% surfactants, preferably 10 to 30%.

11. - A valve according to claim 2, characterized in that the propellant is above the flowable material when the container is substantially upright.

12. A valve according to claim 2, characterized in that the second body 12 is not in contact with the flowable material.

13. A valve according to claim 1, characterized in that the first body (11) and / or the second body (12) is a magnet.